Monday Macarons

As you read here, I've been fascinated by macarons for a while now. These elite pastries are so delicate, and notoriously fiddly to make that I decided last weekend in Dublin to stop by Ladurée in Brown Thomas and try out the crème de la crème of macarons!

They were a little pricey- €1.87 each, but well worth it! I think however, the large boxes of these little delicacies are a bit much- it's hard to justify paying €45 for a box of biscuits at the end of the day! But the box of six would be a cute gift to bring to a dinner party!

The server said that these last up to four days in the fridge, but I found that despite the TLC I gave them, by the time they had survived a taxi, train and bus journey they were a little cracked. So perhaps the boxes are part of the advantage for that- they're snugly packaged to prevent any damage.

My favourite flavour was undoubtedly the Bubblegum Rose (my boyfriend tasted bubblegum icecream for the first time today and was swooning over how accurate it tasted, but it was nothing to this macaron!) 

On first bite through the crisp shell, into the soft centre I tasted the rose, but as the macaron reached my back molars, the bubblegum flavour burst through. This seemed like a small feat of molecular gastronomy! I wish I had bought all their stock of Bubblegum Rose, I'll definitely have to pick up a few more on my next visit! ;)

The Vanilla was almost over-powering. Perhaps because ordinary 'vanilla' products use vanilla essence, which doesn't contain any real vanilla pods so my tastebuds were a little underdeveloped (note, I always use homemade vanilla extract in my recipes! ;) ) But the flavour was really intense, almost in a negative way I felt, as it was overshadowed by the Bubblegum Rose! 

The Pistachio was a little flat. I have previously tasted pistachio macarons with a chocolate ganache filling and those were much better! I think the pistachio lacked any real wow factor, as the filling looked more guacamole than high-end pastry, but as a lover of pistachio I enjoyed this too!

Let's be real here, the Bubblegum Rose was my favourite- but I'm clearly biased! My excitement at tasting a Laudureè macaron may have had something to do with it! ;) 

What do you guys think? Have you tasted a Ladurée work of art yet?? How do you think the pricetag stacks up in today's economic climate? Let me know in the comments below!

If you have any macaron-making tips, keep me updated, I'll attempt to make them soon!

Stay sweet! x

Update: I visited BTs in Dublin (September!) and the Bubblegum Rose wasn't on sale, very disappointing! x